949 Tasting Notes

Think sweet potato fries with chipotle mayo, except sweet instead of savoury and pumpkin as a sub for sweet potatoes. That’s sort of what this tastes like.

It’s a pretty fun concept of smokey spice, cream, and pumpkin with seasonings. The pumpkin flavouring sometimes veers into fall candle territory but I find it’s not a factor if I allow it to cool (the other flavours stick out more).

Preparation

I wasn’t a big fan of this when I tried it western style, so I figured drinking it gongfu style (+10 sec) with a cold wouldn’t hurt.

Although my palate is extremely muted, I’m picking up a lot vegetal and custard-like notes. It’s sort of creamy and almost.. eggy? The latest steep (4 or 5) has a light lime note that is kind of tickle-y to my already irritated throat. A sweetness like powdered sugar is reminiscent of instant jello or pudding; just the thing to have while sick! There are some light floral notes, but they are extremely dampened right now.

I did love that this is an assam base, and that I didn’t need to to tone it down with milk in order to get the sweet and creamy lemon cake flavours. I’m all congested right now so the fact that I can taste it is impressive. Also, more Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series references for the win! Love the pop culture nods, AQ2T.

On a side note- I wish we could remove the broken images on steepster. This tea is pretty.

Flavors: Cake, Frosting, Lemon, Malt, Molasses, Pastries

Preparation

Made this yesterday as a latte and it was actually kind of perfect. I don’t know if the base was coming through more, or if there was just less cinnamon domination going on, but it was incredibly tasty.

The main note was chocolate-nut cream, with hints of malt, raisin, molasses, and cinnamon. I don’t know if that comes close to tasting like rum cake (never had it), but I won’t have a problem drinking up the rest if it tastes like this again.

Going with the gongfu method makes this much more palatable, although it will never be a favourite. The jasmine cream candle is toned down but I still find the flavour profile a little “soapy”. Grass, mineral, and citrus-mint like eucalyptus are more apparent in later steeps and add to that clean vibe.

Steep Count: 5

(2016 Harvest)

Flavors: Cream, Eucalyptus, Floral, Grass, Jasmine, Mineral, Rose

Preparation

This reminds me of the flavouring found in Red Leaf Tea’s Pumpkin Matcha. I enjoy it but I prefer adding a milk-like substance to “blend it up” some more. The nutmeg and the allspice are on the drier, dusty side of things.

I’ve never mixed genmaicha with milk but will probably give that a shot, although probably with the almond variety; matcha and almond milk tend to make a surprising combo!

Steep Count: 2

I was sick today, so someone brought me a cup of tea for moral support. Turns out they resteeped this for 4min at about 200F. It was WAY better than the first steep last night; the spices weren’t so dusty and there was a note of creaminess. It’s always a novelty when a flavoured tea tastes better second steep!

This super floral tea has soft notes of lilac, violet, orchid, and other sweet and mild flowers. Second steep has an aftertaste of mint that I quite enjoy. A tart note crept into the third steep; it has a “fresh” tang that makes me think of rhubarb, with maybe a hint of strawberry. As the cup cools the tart not fades and notes of butter and cream creep in.

Side note to self: don’t start a gongfu session at 10PM. It’s a waste of good tea. Things were just starting to get good too.

A good everyday drinker, this maple tea hits all the sweet spots with an air of causality. The flavouring is tamer than the last maple tea I had, but that doesn’t mean it’s subtle; I don’t think that’s possible with maple syrup. It’s slightly buttery as well.

The unassuming black base is more of a malty prop for the delicious maple syrup than it is a key player. However, it still has enough going for it to stay relevant when milk is added to the equation.

This tea was the biggest winner with my mother today, who stole my cup and then used up the rest of the pot for her to-go mug.